


Reality Sucks

by GlitchyCookie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Coran (Voltron) Being Coran, F/F, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith is a gay mess, M/M, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 14:27:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14474643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitchyCookie/pseuds/GlitchyCookie
Summary: The Voltron gang is part of a guild called Legendary Defenders in a virtual reality game named Voltron. Whereas in real life they're an awkward mismatched friend group. Which contains an emo, a badass tech guru,  a five-star chef, a cocky male who hits on anything that moves, a jock with the ultimate bitch slap, a fashionista who could also bash your face in, and a middle-aged man who acts like a gazelle with an espresso addiction.Life for these friends isn't always happy. In fact, most of their lives are complete shit for a select few of them. But that doesn't stop them from trying to make the most out of their high school careers.Join this ragtag group of people for quite the interesting ride.





	1. Lance

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where the part of my brain that referred to Coran as a gazelle with an espresso addiction exists, but I'm not mad it.

If you ever wanna find me when I'm having a bad day there's always one place you should look first. My roof. I know what you're probably thinking, 'That has to be the easiest place on Earth to get caught'. But I don't like sitting up there during the day, the only thing to look at is the blinding sun. No, for me it has to at midnight when everyone else has gone to sleep. I like to think the stars are brighter in between day and night.

The shingles feel comfortable beneath me, almost like my body's worn them down over the years-creating the perfect spot. The atmosphere up here is familiar in a way only I could understand. It's calming yet exhilarating staring up into the endless void that is space. It makes all my problems seem small in comparison.

I don't care about the cold nipping at my exposed skin, causing tingles to course through my body. The same tingles that feel like electricity flowing through my veins, telling me I'm alive and I'll be fine.

"Lance?" a low whisper draws my eyes away from tracing the Little Dipper.

Peeking out of my window is my younger brother Dante staring at me with pinched eyebrows. Guess I missed one.

"What're you doing up so late?" I asked watching him closely. If he began to slip I'd be there to catch him in a heartbeat.

"I could ask you the same thing," Dante grabs hold of the windowsill as he pulls himself out, landing sturdily on the roof with minimal slippage. He makes his way over to me, laying on my left side-farthest from the edge.

"Far enough," I readjust my arms to comfortably rest behind my head and turn to face him. "I just like coming out here when I need to clear my head. Now it's your turn mister."

"Oh, you know, I was just doing a paper for tomorrow. Nothing major," ah, the simple problems of a fourteen-year-old. The good old days when you really only focused on school work and your friends. Well, if you had any.

Then I glanced down to see him twiddling with his fingers as he rolled his ankles. A dead giveaway he was hiding something. I looked back towards his face to see him staring intently at the sky. The stars were reflected in his dark irises, making him look distant.

"What's the real reason you're still up," his head immediately rolled to the side, our gazes locking. He opened his mouth in an attempt to protest but I cut him off. "And don't lie to me, you have a tell"

His mouth clamped shut as his eyebrows furrowed, he almost looked in pain. His eyes darted between mine like he was having an inner battle with himself, deciding if he should fess up or not.

"How did you know you liked boys?"

The question hit me like a freight train straight to stomach. I'm suddenly at a loss for words as he stares at me expectantly, my mouth falling open. I can't think of any comprehensible words let alone sentences. How are you even supposed to answer that question when you've barely slept in two days, and you could just about fall off a roof at any moment.

His face drops after I don't reply after a few moments, "You know what this, this was a mistake, forget I asked."

He goes to sit up but I catch his arm before he can leave. His eyes trail up my arm landing on my face.

"Sorry, I was just a little shocked. You gotta gimme that," an awkward chuckle slips past my lips as I drop my hand. Dante joins in with a small giggle. "Why do you wanna know? Is there someone at school who's caught your eye?"

At the last comment, Dante's tan skin darkens immensely, and he avoids eye contact. He bites the inside of his cheek, a small smile ghosting on his lips.

"Oh, there is! Tell me!" I jumped up, swinging my legs underneath me. I latch onto his shoulders, shaking him roughly, his head bobbing. He pulls at my hands, forcing them off him as our laughter echoes in the air.

"His name is Austin-"

"-Wait, as in the Austin you won't shut up about, and the one that's coming over tomorrow?" I place my elbows on my knees, resting my head in my palms.

"Yeah, thaaat's the one," a lopsided smile makes a home on Dante's face as he looks off somewhere. "I dunno what happens to me when I see him, but my chest tightens and stomach ties itself in knots. And I kinda just wanna hug him, and cuddle. . . oh god, I sound like a chick." His eyes widen and he hides his face in his hands, his blush intensifying.

"No, no, no keep going! I like where this is going," I urged him on trying to pry his hands from his face.

"Okay, okay, stop," he laughs swatting at my hands. "And it's weird because this is the first time this has happened. I've never felt like this with a girl before, and like all my friends are girls. And then in walks Austin and the whole world turns into this fucking haze, and I can't breathe right anymore!" Dante falls back on the roof, his chest heaving as his eyes dart around the sky.

"Damn, this is intense for a couple 8th graders," I push myself up on the slanted roof, planting my feet firmly on the ground.

I offer a hand to Dante with my eyebrows raised. He takes it and I help pull him up and keep him from sliding off the roof and breaking a few bones. We make our way over to the window and safely plant our feet on my fuzzy blue carpet, drawing a content sigh from me.

"I got it bad, huh? I'm gonna go to bed. Thanks, Lance," he gives me a side hug before leaving my room.

My little brother likes boys. It feels beyond amazing to have another person in my family who I can relate to in a way.

Ever since I came out as bi it's been like World War III in this house, everyone's divided. Mom and dad haven't even been sleeping in the same bed over it. Mom is all for me being into guys, but dad just can't look at me the same way anymore. And after seeing mom and dad fight over it, my siblings even picked sides. Thankfully the only one who was really against it was Ivanna. The sad thing though is we used to be really close, and this just got in the way of that.

I push the thought aside and turn towards my desk. The change from carpet to cold hardwood pushes me to move faster. I take a seat on the black desk chair and hug one leg to my chest.

"Lance? You awake?" A deep voice sounds from my window. I roll my way over to it using one foot. Staring at me with his permanent scowl is none other than Keith mother fucking Kogane.

"What do you want so late mullet?" My head rolls onto my shoulder as I examine him with the best-bored stare I could muster. I'll never tell him but he actually strikes me as quite an interesting person.

His dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a few stray locks framing his face. His purplish eyes seemed to shine with more panic than when he usually comes to me at night. Sweat glistened on his forehead along with his exposed chest. Sadly my eyes seemed to linger there a little longer than necessary.

I don't know how it happened but ever since maybe, a month ago, he's been climbing into my room and sleeping in my bed. He always seems on edge whenever he asks to come over. It's kind of unnerving.

"Weird noises are coming from Shiro's room again and it's making me uncomfortable. Can I stay with you again?" and don't even get me started on his terrible excuses.

"Say no more," I move away from the window, giving him a clear shot inside.

He clears the three feet between our houses, landing face-down at the foot of my bed. He pushes himself off the floor before throwing himself onto my bed. After wrapping himself in the comforter he raises his eyebrows at me.

"Aren't you coming?" he vaguely gestures to the space next to him, pushing me to take it.

I sigh heavily before hopping onto my warm, cozy bed. On the downside, I'll be sleeping next to a guy who could easily kill me in his sleep.

I reach over Keith trying to grab my contact lenses container, hovering over his body. I'm practically smushed up against the guy, but I eventually grab it and flip back over to my side. I take them out and place them in the container with as much precision as I could muster while only seeing a white blob.

I shove my body under the covers and turn myself away from Keith, making sure we aren't touching. But this boy produces enough heat to be qualified as a portable heater, and hey I'm not complaining, but I always find myself scooting closer. It's the middle of winter and I could use all the heat I can get my hands on. Thankfully I have a double bed which leaves a fair amount of space between us, but just enough that he still warms me up. Yet somehow as the night goes on that space diminishes and Keith ends up with his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me securely to his chest.

Waking up in the mornings is always weird. On the weekends I could sleep till two in the afternoon, but Mr. I-Wake-Up-When-The-Sun-Does over there always disturbs me. I don't know about you but my brain doesn't really piece together information very fast when I'm half asleep. So me being the idiot I am will always latch my claws into him and prevent him from leaving. But that's not where it ends. Oh no. He'll start playing with my fucking hair.

My curly, untainted hobbit hair no less. I always spend at least an hour or two taming it with a straighter every day before school. But on weekends I could care less because I won't be seeing any of my peers. I also don't wear my contacts on the weekends. I'm always wearing my bulky square-ish glasses that I think make me look dweebish.

And he just so happens to see me in my most vulnerable state on a daily basis.

My thoughts are shattered when a pair of arms wrap around my chest and pull me backward. The wind is practically knocked from my lungs with the sheer force of contact with Keith's bare torso. Who would've ever thought Keith 'I don't fucking care' Kogane was such a cuddler.

There's no use in trying to escape his iron grip (he's tried many times) so I just stare blankly at the wall as his warmth seeps into me. I'll never admit it to anyone now but I was starting to become accustomed to this.

<><><>

I awoke to someone's fingers idly playing with my hair, gently tugging at it. I groaned, pushing my head into the sensation. My arms tightened around the warm thing I was snuggling and tensed under my grip before relaxing again.

I forced my eyes open and they settled on blurred pale skin. I almost fell back to sleep before realizing another person was in my bed. It only took a second for the memories to flood my mind. Keith had snuck over last night cause he accused Shiro of getting it on with Allura.

Then it really clicked.

I was cuddling with Keith while he played with my hair. Again. It only took a second to peel myself off his body and stare at him with widened eyes. I couldn't really make out his expression without my glasses, but I think he was surprised by my sudden reaction.

"Jeez, dude. What's got your panties in a twist?" his sassy tone caused my eyebrows to furrow.

"I should be asking you that," I slid out of bed and stumbled over to my bedside table trying to find my glasses. After fumbling around for a minute I found the bulky eyewear and put them on. The haze vanished and I could clearly see Keith staring at me with his permanent scowl. "I've over looked this for a month now without asking questions but it's starting to get weird now. Why do you keep coming into my room late at night and cuddle with me in bed? And Shiro has not been boning Allura every night, so don't use that excuse, mister."

I was now standing in front of the bed with a hand on my hip along with a finger held up accusingly towards him. He just continued to stare me down with his scowl until I conjured one to match.

"Why should I tell you?" he crossed his arms, leaning farther back into my pillows.

My faced warmed as my mind suddenly wandered to places it never should've with Keith in the picture. "Because I seem to a part of all this!" my voice came out high pitched and I cursed it.

"Whatever," he pushed the covers off himself before making his way toward the door. "I'm saying good morning to your mom before I leave."

And with that, he closed the door behind him. Leaving me alone with my surprisingly dirty thoughts. I inwardly shrieked before jumping into my bed and muffling a real shriek with my pillow.

It smelled like him.


	2. Keith

My stomach drops as the dream runs through my mind for the thousandth time this morning.

Heavy rain restrained my vision from seeing any further than three feet ahead at most. My clothes sticking to me like a second skin as my bare feet sank deeper into the damp sand with every step.

On my side, Lance was standing there with one of his most genuine smiles. The kind he reserved for the things that made him truly happy. This boy had an infatuation with the rain I could never fully comprehend. It felt like icicles were pelting my naked skin so I didn't really understand the appeal. But I had one question: 'Why was I here?'

I was about to ask when all movement in my legs ceased. The rain cleared ever so slightly so I could make out Lance's figure pull ahead. When he was maybe fifteen feet away he began to wobble.

Time slowed as he disappeared.

"Keith!" a blood-curdling scream belonging to none other than Lance sliced through the air.

I was still stuck in my spot as my own screams made an appearance. No reply came as I struggled to move, unable to fix the damage that had just occurred. I didn't realize I was crying until I tasted the salt at the corners of my mouth.

I sink lower into my chair as I push a piece of pancake around in maple syrup. Mamá McClain made pancakes for breakfast and insisted I stay for breakfast. I wasn't about to refuse her delicious cooking so I stayed a little while longer. Thankfully Lance hasn't come downstairs yet cause I'm not fully equipped to deal with him at the moment.

I shove a piece of pancake into my mouth as a sleep deprived looking Mateo takes the seat across from me clad in neon pink booty shorts that stand out against his plain black T-shirt. The shorts looked to be quite tight on him which also meant they were extremely revealing. Let's just say his future partner is a very lucky woman.

"What's with the shorts? I thought you were, let's see how you put it, straight," I smirked while wiggling my eyebrows.

"Ha, ha, very funny Kogane," he laughs dryly. "I was doing my laundry and I needed something to wear so Luna graciously offered these to me." Enough sarcasm dripped from his words to fill a few buckets.

I watched as he drowned his small stack of pancakes with ketchup. Ew, I swear this family has some of the weirdest food combinations. I mean they practically put ketchup on anything. Chips, sausage, pancakes, eggs, pasta, mac n' cheese, you name it.

I spend enough time with this family to know them probably even more than my own. That fact would send any normal person running for the hills but I'm not even close to normal.

"You've been here for breakfast a lot lately. What's with that?" Luna questions as she takes a seat beside me.

"I like your moms cooking," I unattractively force an entire pancake into my mouth, keeping intense eye intact with her. "Sue me." My words are muffled by the fluffy pancake.

She pushes at my face, shaking her head and laughing awkwardly at my antics. After a moment she composes herself with a deep breath, focusing all her attention on the food in front of her. She picked one up with her bare hands and began chowing down like there was no tomorrow.

I finished my food quickly and dropped my plate in the sink. I bid everyone in the house goodbye and a few yelled goodbyes were thrown back at me.

Their entryway was home to a few homemade shoe cubbies and jacket hooks that lined the walls on either side. I swipe Lance's favorite jacket off its respective hook. It's a green hoodie with a yellow stripe running across its middle that our friend Pidge had gotten him last year for Christmas. Then I scavenged around in the cubbies for a pair of his shoes. I snatched up the black work boots he always wears during winter. I throw on the articles of clothing, each a little too big, but I don't really care.

Upon opening the front door I was bathed in the cool winds of late November. My teeth chattered as I pulled the jacket tighter around my body. I jogged the few feet over to my house and unlocked the door using the spare key hidden under the ceramic bunny that sits out on the porch.

I softly closed the door behind me, trying my hardest not to alert Shiro I ever left. Then I slipped off the shoes because they'd create too much noise on hardwood flooring. The pads of my feet swiftly glided across the floor until a light being turned on caught my attention.

There shrouded in the dim lights of our kitchen was my older brother Shiro with a cup of coffee in hand. Well, adoptive older brother. His expression was unreadable until his lips widened into a sadistic smirk.

"So, have you banged him yet?"

Heat flourished against my cheeks as the mental image of Lance writhing underneath me rose to my mind. I delved further into the fantasy without thinking. I shook my head furiously, trying to remove the picture.

"Why would you ask something like that?" I stormed into the kitchen and stood directly in front of him. "We're just friends . . ."

Shiro leaned back against the counter sipping intently from the mug. "You have been crushing on that poor boy for months. It's becoming sad and pathetic watching you."

The embarrassment from earlier fades, easily replaced by annoyance. Siblings tend to have an uncanny ability that allows them to push your buttons without even properly trying.

"Says the man who wrote fucking poems about his girlfriend before she asked him out because he was too scared," a satisfied smile rises to my face as his cocky expression melts into that of embarrassment.

"We promised to never bring that up again!" his words fall on deaf ears as I retreat from the kitchen, running for the stairs.

I bound up the steps two at a time, only tripping once in the process. Once I was safely locked away in my room I let a chuckle slip past my lips. Shiro becomes a mess if you bring up his old poetry journal or how his birthday's on leap year.

I clearly remember the day when Pidge had asked me when his birthday was. I was about to tell them Shiro suddenly came out of nowhere and tackled me. We fought each other for a good few minutes until Lance came in and told them. Then Shiro jumped off me and tackled Lance without a second thought.

He had that black eye for a week.

I throw Lance's boots in the direction of my closet and pull on a pair of fluffy socks to compensate for the loss of warmth. I fall onto my bed with a huff, Lance's jacket still wrapped tightly around me.

Next to me, I hear my phone ding, signaling I've been sent a text. With a groan, I unplug the phone from its charger and see a text from Allura in the group chat.

SpaceMom - Is anyone up for a Voltron mission??

Me - Sure. Sounds fun

Mega Asshole - Yeah I'm game

Pigeon - Yes. I can't stand family time. I need to shoot something

Personal Chef - I'm in too. Also, Pidge calm down, killing isn't always the answer

Pigeon - Oh Hunk u naive child

SpaceDad - Really Pidge? But I'm in too

SpaceMom - Okay. See u guys in a minute

After putting my phone back on the nightstand I hop out of bed. I scurry over to my dresser and grab the sensitive headgear for virtual reality games. After sitting down on my bed again I place the helmet over my head and lay down on my pillow.

My eyes flutter shut almost immediately and the darkness is soon replaced by a blinding white light. It takes a moment for multicolored particles to generate and fuse together creating the play button for Voltron. I reach out and hit the button and soon I find myself in the alternate universe that is Voltron.

I watch as my health bar forms in the bottom right corner with my name Keith hovering over it. As everyone else begins logging in their health bars begin forming under my own. It's actually really convenient to be in a guild when you go on missions because you can trade over equipment when you aren't near each other and know when someone's lying about their health.

I jump off the spawning platform and take in the rotting concrete structures surrounding the center. A cobblestone loosens under my impact, it really sells the fact that everything is falling apart around you.

Lance touches down on the ground beside me and lets out a huff as he cracks his knuckles. "Feels go to be logged in again."

I'm no longer taken back by his character's species type after a couple years of looking at it. Lance chose to be an Altean over being human. The differences aren't major but still quite noticeable. It swaps his normal chocolate brown hair out for snow white locks. His ears grow pointer and become adorned with a few more piercings than usual. It also paints blue markings under his eyes alongside with a few other places on his body.

"You and me both buddy," Pidge leaps down and lands directly on Lance's back, latching their short limbs around his body. Lance's reflexes are quick as he hooks his arms under Pidge's knees.

I hear a soft thud behind me which is probably Allura. My suspicions are confirmed as she walks forward to address our group.

Similar to Lance she also chose to be the Altean species. Her usual white hair was unchanged and stands out against her dark skin tone. And instead of blue for her markings, they were replaced with a faint pink.

"Let me give you a quick briefing before we go. We're fighting a plix or as Lance would say 'a slime monster'. Its weak points are the chest, feet, and its forehead. But you can't hit its forehead unless you're in close proximity to get the full critical attack so it's off limits," Allura eyes Lance as if the warning was solely meant for him.

"What? I'm not gonna do anything stupid, I swear," Lance gave her a cocky grin to finalize his argument.

<><><>

"'Not gonna do anything stupid' my ass," Pidge's voice sounded through our coms as they dodged another glob of acid spit. The liquid sizzled until it seared a whole into the trench wall.

The plix closely resembled a lab experiment gone wrong that'd become sentient in the process. You also couldn't get too close it or else it would encase you inside its body, eventually suffocating you. The majority of us were on the ground working on immobilizing it while Lance was situated at the top of the trench aiming for its forehead.

"Don't you dare think about jumping Lance. We don't need you dying on us," Allura grunted as she flung her laser whip toward its chest, hitting it straight on. The health bar resting at the top of my vision diminished slightly past the halfway mark.

It wasn't hard to whack the first half of its health out seeing as it hadn't engaged in defense tactics until the health bar hit the halfway mark.

"But if I jump down and get the shot it should give us enough attack points to kill it," Lance whined through the coms. I could tell he was trying to hide that childish aspect but failing.

"I don't think so Lance," I heard Hunk's voice make an appearance on the channel. "Let's play it safe for now. Cause I'm all about that safeness, you feel me?"

The channel was silent until Lance's determined voice filtered into my ears. "I'm gonna do it."

A chorus of groans rose from everyone that there was no talking him out of it now. All we could do now was watch it play out and hope this wasn't another one of his dumbass plans. I mean sure sometimes they worked out but then there were times where they'd burst up in flames. Quite literally.

My eyes trailed up the steep walls landing on where I could vaguely make out Lance's figure standing. He dipped out of sight for a moment until he came back into view sprinting with his rifle clutched securely in his arms. Then he was falling. I could hear the slicing of air through the coms along with the sound of Lance sucking in a sharp breath.

I don't know exactly when he shot the bullet. All I know is the health meter dropped to zero and faded away as the plix disappeared in a plume of black smoke. In its wake, the rewards were left. 200,000 Gac and a few blue vials containing health points.

But Lance was still falling. It took a moment for my instincts to kick in before I was running to where I thought he would land. Apparently, Allura and Shiro also had the same idea. We held out our arms and Lance crashed into us knocking all four of us into a dog-pile on the ground.

I snuck a glance at the health bars to see Lance's falling into the red zone. Man, he really is an idiot.

But I do admit it was kinda cool.


End file.
